Block Print
The Enlightenment of Age
Block Print 30cm x 23cm October 2016 Exhibition Text
The Enlightenment of Age was inspired by German Expressionism and the cover of a Nancy Drew novel I’ve had since I was a kid, “The Secret of Mirror Bay,” by Carolyn Keene. It represents looking back on the changes in your life from an older perspective. I’m obviously very young, so I decided to look at this project through a different point of view. The title is a twist on the Age of Enlightenment, an age of change and revolution. |
Planning
Inspiration
My inspiration stemmed from the German Expressionist works of Käthe Kollwitz and Hermann Max Pechstein, as well as the cover of a Nancy Drew book I found at a garage sale when I was around 10. The book was "The Secret of Mirror Bay", pictured here, and as a kid I believed Nancy was witnessing fairies pull something out of the lake because of the skewed perspective (Nancy's face being very large in the background while the subjects in the foreground are very small). While this was untrue, the illustration itself is very whimsical, and I felt it was a good contrast to the darker themes of German Expressionism. What drew me to German Expressionism and these artists in particular were the lines around the eyes. The eyes are intensely lined and carry the somber mood of the piece to the viewer, which is something I attempted to mimic in my own piece albeit with a less gloomy message. |
(Click the pictures for citations)
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Planning Sketches
It took a long time to figure out what I wanted to do with this project. My first sketch was the jaw of a dog with a houndstooth pattern in the background because my first idea for a theme was obsession, and patterns seemed to fit the bill. However, after some careful consideration, obsession wasn't the theme I wanted to go with, so I decided to move on.
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This second sketch was more of a take on The Most Dangerous Game inspired by the leaves on the Nancy Drew book cover. The Most Dangerous Game is about a man who’s obsessed with hunting humans on his shipwreck isle, but I still wasn't happy with this theme and didn't feel as if this sketch had anything unique to it.
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This sketch is the closest to the final product. I began to look at German Expressionism as a source of inspiration and really loved how most German Expressionist prints had intense eyes. I also began to look up the symbolism for different insects, because although I dislike looking at most of them, insect wings are usually iridescent and full of color so I felt it would be interesting to portray them in black and white.
In the end I ditched the hands but kept the dragonfly, as the dragonfly is symbolic to emotional maturity, something I felt was important in German Expressionism. |
Process
Experimentation
Pictured to the right are all of the prints I made throughout the process. The top row was the first round of prints, and the bottom row was the second, after more carving around the nose took place. I experimented throughout the carving process with the different kinds of carving tools. The v-shaped tool was able to create lines with varying weight, going from very thin and light on the surface to carved deep and wide into the material. The small curved tool was useful in carving out bigger sections and allowed for smoother, more controlled carving, but had less range in terms of line weight. The large curved tool was useful in carving out even larger sections quickly, such as the rippling water on the bottom, but because of its size was hard to maneuver around more delicate areas. |
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Process
First, I redrew my sketch onto the material with pencil, before tracing over it in sharpie and even filling in large sections in order to get a better idea of what the final product might look like. I only drew the top half of the sketch, however, as I had not fully decided if I wanted to use the dragonfly or not.
I then began to carve away at the material using the v-shaped, small curved, and large curved carving tools, carving out any areas not filled in with black. I also outlined the rest of the dragonfly using sharpie and pencil.
I then began to carve away at the material using the v-shaped, small curved, and large curved carving tools, carving out any areas not filled in with black. I also outlined the rest of the dragonfly using sharpie and pencil.
Finally, I started the inking process. First I put a small amount of black ink on a metal sheet and began to roll it out with a rubber roller. After the ink was even I spread the ink using the roller across my block, trying to get a consistent coat that would create a solid print. After that I centered a white piece of paper as best as I could above the block, set a piece of newsprint above that, and began to rub it in small circles using the baren. After around 2 minutes or more I peeled off both papers and set the wet print out to dry on the drying rack.
Reflection
I'm mostly happy with how this turned out. There weren't any major mishaps during experimentation and the 6 prints I made total were good enough practice for the future. I feel like I could've left more of the face uncarved to intensify the shadows around the eyes and maybe added some faint detail to the leaves. Doing two rounds of prints was extremely helpful because it allowed me to fully realize where I needed immediate improvement, such as around the nose where I'd forgotten to carve it all out. I also feel as if I could've done more experimentation; I could've painted behind the print beforehand, used a different color ink, or even tried a double print with two different colored inks! This made me realize I need to be more adventurous in my work.
Most of the information for inspiration came from background knowledge of art history, although one new thing I did learn was Max Pechstein did not only make black and white woodcuts, but painted in a style very similar to Fauvism, a brightly colored movement radically different from general German Expressionism. Because of this contrast, I feel like I should look into him more and could maybe come back to this in a future project. In addition, I feel like I should do some more in-depth research for my upcoming projects because I can bolster my knowledge on art history and create a larger collection in my mind to draw inspiration from.
Most of the information for inspiration came from background knowledge of art history, although one new thing I did learn was Max Pechstein did not only make black and white woodcuts, but painted in a style very similar to Fauvism, a brightly colored movement radically different from general German Expressionism. Because of this contrast, I feel like I should look into him more and could maybe come back to this in a future project. In addition, I feel like I should do some more in-depth research for my upcoming projects because I can bolster my knowledge on art history and create a larger collection in my mind to draw inspiration from.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
The German Expressionist works feature intense eyes with deeps lines carved into the face. and the book cover features someone peeking through leaves, two things which are clearly displayed in my own piece.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of the information on German Expressionism were objective and simply stated their information as an art historian does, while the articles I found on the book were subjective and didn't talk about the cover at all.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
German Expressionism is seen as a melancholy art movement due to its primarily black and white images and dark subject matters such as grief, war, and sickness.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to look through a different perspective, either through leaves or the eyes of someone older than myself.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that German Expressionism was almost a collective coping mechanism through the use of art, as the subjects usually revolved around the conflict of the time and the dire situations the people were in.
The German Expressionist works feature intense eyes with deeps lines carved into the face. and the book cover features someone peeking through leaves, two things which are clearly displayed in my own piece.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of the information on German Expressionism were objective and simply stated their information as an art historian does, while the articles I found on the book were subjective and didn't talk about the cover at all.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
German Expressionism is seen as a melancholy art movement due to its primarily black and white images and dark subject matters such as grief, war, and sickness.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea was to look through a different perspective, either through leaves or the eyes of someone older than myself.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that German Expressionism was almost a collective coping mechanism through the use of art, as the subjects usually revolved around the conflict of the time and the dire situations the people were in.
Bibliography
Dierksen, Carol. "The Sleuth...a Nancy Drew Sleuths Publication." The Nancy Drew Sleuths. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.
http://www.ndsleuths.com/thesleuthpg9feb05.html
"Dragonflies | British-dragonflies.org.uk." N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.
http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/content/anisoptera-dragonflies
"German Expressionist Woodcuts - Spaightwood Galleries." N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.
http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Exhibitions_German_Exp.html
http://www.ndsleuths.com/thesleuthpg9feb05.html
"Dragonflies | British-dragonflies.org.uk." N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.
http://www.british-dragonflies.org.uk/content/anisoptera-dragonflies
"German Expressionist Woodcuts - Spaightwood Galleries." N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.
http://www.spaightwoodgalleries.com/Pages/Exhibitions_German_Exp.html